Election 2024 | Ariel Kelley seeks to address health care access, climate change - Eureka Times-Standard

Election 2024 | Ariel Kelley seeks to address health care access, climate change - Times-Standard

Editor’s note: The Times-Standard will be covering candidates in the 2024 election on a regular basis through November. This is part of that coverage.

This election, voters must choose between six candidates for the California District 2 Assembly seat. It’s the first time in nearly a decade that Assemblymember Jim Wood hasn’t been on the ballot, and a smattering of campaign announcements quickly followed the news he wouldn’t run for reelection.

Ariel Kelley, a Healdsburg City Council member, said she’s running for the seat because people asked her to — she said her career has been focused on being responsive to community needs.

“It was definitely unexpected for me. But as soon as his announcement came out, my phone started ringing off the hook with calls from community members asking me to step up and run,” she said.

This, too, sparked her run for Healdsburg City Council where she served as mayor last year.

After speaking with people across the district, she found many of the issues people face are the same.

She wants to focus on health care access, the effects of climate change and combatting the homelessness crisis. She said something that sets her apart from other candidates is her policy chops.

“I know I can walk in on day one and start delivering on bills and legislation,” she said noting she worked on policy in a handful of regional agencies such as the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District.

Her aims include addressing the abysmal lack of health care options and in particular, reproductive care access, something she said is a priority. She said other barriers are threatening health care across the district, like hospital seismic retrofit standards and minimum wage increases for health care workers. She wants to work on policy to stop the potential of the state forcing the closure of small hospitals in the region for seismic reasons.

She noted the lack of OB-GYNs in Humboldt County and said providers fear being held legally accountable for providing abortions to people who reside in other states, some of which have severely restricted abortion following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“We do not have enough providers, but also there are providers who are facing burnout, workplace violence, as well as fear about what’s happening in other states,” she said.

Another legislative priority of hers, if elected, is to implement paid family leave and ensure that the new transitional kindergarten statewide program is funded and is high quality.

Kelley was raised outside of Eugene, Oregon. She went to law school in San Francisco and moved to Healdsburg a little over a decade ago. She said working to reduce homelessness in Healdsburg has uniquely prepared her to address homelessness across the district — a systemic approach that starts with stabilizing people by moving them to shelters.

“I would say the main component of it is the response is not a one-size-fits-all response,” she said.

She advocated for clean energy transitions across the state and noted the impacts of climate change are here, with sea level rise, wildfires and other disasters.

“As a mom, looking in the face of the next generation literally every night as I’m tucking them into bed, I approach the role with a greater sense of urgency because I know we have a lot of work to do to fix some of the challenges that are in front of us,” she said.

She emphasized gender parity in Sacramento as a critical issue, and noted her endorsement from the Democratic Legislative Women’s Caucus and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry.

“I just think we solve problems differently. We approach problems with a different lens and are great at multitasking. So if you have a complicated problem to solve typically ask a woman and she gets it done,” she said.

She’s worked in the nonprofit sector as the CEO of Pillar, which distributed money to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and founded Corazón, which has education and resource programs for families. She’s also worked in the private sector in sports marketing and as an attorney surrounding land use practices. She worked retail at Nordstrom during law school — and noted with a laugh that customer service is a key skill set.

Other candidates include Michael Greer, trustee for the Del Norte County Office of Education; Rusty Hicks, Chair of the California Democratic Party; Frankie Myers, vice chairman of the Yurok Tribe; Chris Rogers, Santa Rosa city councilmember; and Ted Williams, a Mendocino County supervisor. Cynthia Click of Willits announced earlier this month that she was suspending her campaign and endorsing Frankie Myers, though her name will still appear on ballots.

Sage Alexander can be reached at 707-441-0504.